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UCLA tries to rearrange Pac-12 game of year plans - NBC Sports

UCLA tries to rearrange Pac-12 game of year plans

APWF

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2013 file photo, Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins (2) runs for a touchdown after making a catch as Wake Forest cornerback Merrill Noel (7) defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game, in Clemson, S.C. Watkins is the latest Florida high school standout to make an impact outside the state. He and the third-ranked Tigers take on No. 5 Florida State on Saturday night. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

October 16, 2013, 3:27 pm

Associated Press

The Pac-12's game of the year has been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 7 between Stanford and Oregon on The Farm.

Stanford's loss at Utah last week put a dent in those plans. No. 9 UCLA can totally blow them up Saturday by handing the 13th-ranked Cardinal a second straight loss.

That would turn the Oregon-UCLA game Oct. 26 into a top-10 - maybe even top-five - Pac-12 matchup, and make the Bruins a national championship contender in late October for the first time in a while.

"We're only thinking about this week and playing Stanford," UCLA coach Jim Mora said. "It's an opportunity for us to go on the road and play a very, very good football team. A team that beat us in the Pac-12 championship game. A team that we have a ton of respect for."

A Bruins victory could also send quarterback Brett Hundley surging up those Heisman Trophy watch lists.

The last time UCLA was ranked higher than this was 2001. Those Bruins reached No. 4, and then dropped four straight, starting with a late October loss to Stanford.

The Atlantic Coast Conference game of the year came off as planned. No. 5 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson on Saturday, the first top-five matchup of ACC teams since 2005 (No. 5 Miami 27, No. 3 Virginia Tech 7) and only the fourth in league history.

"It's great for our conference," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "We're the only league that's got three undefeated teams."

No. 10 Miami will try to stay that way Thursday night at North Carolina.

Barring some big upsets down the road, Clemson-Florida State should settle the Atlantic Division race. Florida State does play Miami in a couple weeks, which could be an old-school `Canes-'Noles game, featuring two top-10 teams. Neither the Tigers nor Seminoles have No. 19 Virginia Tech on the schedule.

If a game of the year does exist in the American Athletic Conference, it could very well be Friday night at Louisville. Teddy Bridgewater and the eighth-ranked Cardinals face Central Florida (4-1). The Knights are probably the most talented team on Louisville's schedule, led by quarterback Blake Bortles and linebacker Terrance Plummer. If they can't derail the Cardinals' perfect season, who can?

The picks:

MAIN EVENT

No. 5 Florida State (minus 3) at No. 3 Clemson

Jameis Winston is about to become even more famous ... FLORIDA STATE 42-35.

MARQUEE MATCHUPS

No. 6 LSU (minus 7 1/2) at Mississippi

Three of last four meetings decided by a touchdown or less ... LSU 35-31.

Tar Heels are desperate. Second straight road game for Gamecocks; Vols, meanwhile, were off last week. Road trips and injury concerns for Georgia and Texas Tech. Horned Frogs and Cowboys are hard to figure. Five of six games for Huskies have been decided by 14 or less.